London, UK, 14 March 2017: MRC Technology, a medical research charity, today announced it has licensed an antibody to Newsummit Biopharma, a leading China-based drug development process solutions provider, for development of a novel therapeutic for treatment of Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection. The antibody was humanised by MRC Technology scientists, and originated in the laboratory of Prof. Arvind Patel, of the MRC-University of Glasgow Centre for Virus Research (CVR).

HCV is a major cause of chronic liver disease. It is estimated that approximately 200 million people globally are infected with this virus, of which 25% live in China. Current worldwide projections estimate that HCV will be a major source of morbidity and mortality before the end of this decade. Although new promising treatments are now becoming available, there is as yet no vaccine and there is an unmet need to develop new targets for a broad and more effective therapy.

MRC Technology’s proprietary antibody humanisation technique and expertise has helped to bring several humanised antibody drugs to the market, including Keytruda®, Tysabri®, and Actemra®.

Dave Tapolczay, Chief Executive Officer, MRC Technology, said: “As a charity, MRC Technology focuses on areas where there are unmet patient needs, helping to get healthcare innovation to patients sooner and improving lives through science. Working with centres such as the CVR to find science with potential, then developing that science to the stage of licensing, is essential to impacting the translation of innovation into real patient benefit.”

Jun Ren, Chief Executive Officer, Newsummit Biopharma, said: “We have been working successfully with MRC Technology since 2009 to attract innovative therapies and diagnostics from the UK and Europe onto the Chinese market. With this license agreement, and through our unique collaborative innovation ecosystem, we aim to quickly tackle one of China’s major public health issues, as well as provide patients from Asia and the West with a valuable therapeutic option against HCV.”

About MRC Technology

MRC Technology is an independent life science medical research charity committed to improving positive patient outcomes everywhere. As a champion for human health, MRC Technology partners with academic, biotechnology, pharmaceutical and charity organisations to move promising medical research forward into viable and accessible patient treatments. As a self-funded charity, income is reinvested to support translating research from the bench to patient. MRC Technology offers commercialisation and IP management skills and diagnostic and drug discovery expertise, specialising in small molecules and therapeutic antibodies. www.mrctechnology.org/

About Newsummit Biopharma

Established in Shanghai in 2001, Newsummit Biopharma is committed to accelerating the translation of healthcare innovations into clinically relevant products and services, for the benefit of patients in China and the world. Via its unique Collaborative Healthcare Organization (CHO) services model, Newsummit Biopharma leverages clinical, scientific, industrial, governmental and financial resources globally to create a unique, patient-centric healthcare product development ecosystem rooted in innovation. Newsummit Biopharma is a wholly owned subsidiary of Zhejiang Yatai Pharmaceuticals, a Chinese listed pharmaceutical company (SHE:002370) focused on the fight against infectious diseases. www.newsummitbio.com/

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